MIAMI – As the Miami Heat hope to be at full strength when they face the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday evening, they also have to focus on their opponent, who made a huge addition this offseason with former Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson. After the Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers last Monday, they hope to win two straight on their home floor as head coach Erik Spoelstra speaks about the upcoming matchup.
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra speaks on what Klay Thompson brings to Dallas
Dallas made an impressive trip to the NBA Finals last season, led by stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but fell to the Boston Celtics in five games. Despite Doncic missing time currently due to a wrist injury, Thompson could be seen as the final missing piece of the puzzle for the team in the long run, as Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that the four-time champion gives them “Hall of Fame shooting.”
“Well, he [Thompson] has that Hall of Fame shooting that you always have to be aware of where he is on the court because he can ignite at any moment,” Spoelstra said. “They played well, you know, in the few games that played without Doncic. So they’re extremely dangerous either way, they had an impressive win last night. You know, we have to make sure that we’re bringing it and, you know, playing with some enthusiasm here at home and build on what we did the last time we played in front of our fans.”
Heat prepare to face the Mavericks without star Luka Doncic
As said before, Miami’s opponent will be missing their focal drive on offense in Doncic, but in the one game he has missed so far, the Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets in a team effort, 123-120. Still, there is no doubt that it could change the game plan for Spoelstra since Doncic will be unavailable, though he still has to focus on such stars as Thompson, Irving, and more.
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“It’s the great players require special attention to the game plan, and it might not be a big departure from what we do,” Spoelstra said. “It’s just every single detail matters, even without Luka, Kyrie [Irving] is an offense unto Himself, the creativity and stress he can put on to a defense is real. And obviously, Klay [Thompson] is somebody that can get going in not much space or time. So, I think it was good to be able to drill some of our defense full speed, we haven’t been able to do that in a while.”
At any rate, Miami looks to take down Thompson and the rest of the Mavericks as they host them on Sunday after getting a week off. Still, the Heat await a final status on Jimmy Butler as they are currently 6-7, which puts them fifth in the Eastern Conference.
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